


The Boys of Selene Book Cafe

by kibumy



Category: SHINee
Genre: Clairvoyance, Coffee Shops, Magic, Regeneration, Resurgence, Superpowers, Swearing, Telekinesis, Witchcraft, bookstore, powers, pyrokinesis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-01 21:11:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16291898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kibumy/pseuds/kibumy
Summary: Jonghyun recently discovers that he has powers. After a strange meeting with some book cafe workers, he realizes he's not the only one.





	1. Did I do that?

Jonghyun fought back tears on the long bus ride home from the city. The lump in his throat grew as he recalled the moment he’d been rejected from the agency for the second time. He could go over a million scenarios in his head of what he could’ve sang, what he could’ve said, and what he could’ve done, but nothing could change the present.

Jonghyun dreamt of being a singer. Since he could speak, he was singing. He practiced his guitar almost every night for hours on end, writing new songs and lyrics in hopes that one of them would impress AOC Agency and he could be signed. The first time he auditioned, boy was he nervous. It practically felt like his entire future was standing there in front of him, waiting for him to grab it. That is, until his guitar string broke mid-audition and he was too embarrassed to continue. The second audition, however, Jonghyun was more prepared. He’d made sure to practice in front of his mom and sister every night to get used to singing in front of other people, with and without his guitar. He’d waited for his call time all day, strumming meaningless chords on his acoustic in the agency’s lobby. 

Finally, Jonghyun was standing before the audition judges, guitar swung over his chest and heart pounding, ready to begin his song. He began and played his tune with shaky hands, but sung the notes breathlessly, making sure to smile when emphasising that high note for some extra charm. Jonghyun made eye contact with each judge, just as his mother told him, but their expressionless gazes sent a worrying chill down his spine. The smile on his face from the song’s beginning had now vanished with the last note, fearing the bad news he was about to receive.

“Kim Jonghyun…” The older man on the left of the table in front of him sighed, looking down at the portrait and audition information in front of him, “That was decent.”

_ Decent? What do you mean by decent? _ Jonghyun thought, feeling cold sweat being to form on his nape. His look of confusion prompted the female judge to chime in.

“Don’t get us wrong, sweetheart, it was good,” The woman added, pushing her black-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose, “but we don’t think you’re suited for AOC just yet.”

Those words crushed Jonghyun to the soul. He could feel his throat closing and he could feel tears behind his eyes. He nodded to the two before the woman continued.

“We need to see more potential from you, Jonghyun. Maybe if you try again in a year or two, we might consider.”

Jonghyun looked away from their sharp gazes as he attempted to breathe in, trying to get a hold of himself so he could thank them for their time. With a shaky breath, Jonghyun spoke up.

“Thank you very much for…” Jonghyun’s voice quivered at that moment, “...I-thank you for having me.” Jonghyun bowed respectfully and took his guitar off from over his shoulders, making his way towards the audition room door. He’d hoped to hear some words of encouragement; something like “don’t give up” or “keep practicing” but the room was silent as the doors echoed shut. Jonghyun quickly packed up his guitar and hurried out of the agency in shame, feeling his cheeks burning red from the embarrassment of being sent home for the second time.

The shock of it all was overwhelming enough to keep his eyes from shedding tears, although he certainly felt as if they were dripping nonstop.

 

The bus stop at the end of the street had no one waiting for it as Jonghyun stepped off, making the long trek up the road to his family’s house. He thought about how he would tell his mother of his failure, that the audition didn’t go as planned. The moment he was most afraid of would be her face; that look of disappointment in him. He let her down again. Jonghyun wondered if she would regret ever buying him the guitar with the extra money she scraped together from work.

The self hatred grew as he hiked up the steps to his front door, how he didn’t deserve his guitar, how he should’ve just focused on a career more reasonable, or that he shouldn’t have delusions of such grandior things. It was late, he hoped his mother was asleep so he wouldn’t have to bear the bad news on her so soon as he entered the house and slipped off his shoes near the doorway. As Jonghyun set down his guitar case, his mother and sister, Sodam, rounded the corner of the small foyer with balloons and a cookie with a singular lit candle in the middle.

“Congratulations!” Jonghyun’s mother and sister shouted with bright smiles on their faces, pushing the lit candle towards him to be blown out. At that moment, his heart dropped.

“We’re so proud of your audition, Jonghyunnie~!” Sodam cheered, “Quickly, blow out the candle before it--”

“I didn’t get in,” Jonghyun lamented, avoiding the look of shock and disappointment on their faces.

“...What?” Jonghyun’s mother asked quietly, watching Jonghyun’s face carefully. Jonghyun raised his head up to look them both in the eyes, tears streaming down his face, dropping to the ground.

“I didn’t make it into th-the agency, Mom,” He said between sobs, “I-I’m sorry.” Before Jonghyun’s mother or sister could embrace him like they wanted to, Jonghyun raced up the stairs to his bedroom and slammed the door shut, locking himself in for the night.

Sodam and Jonghyun’s mother exchanged looks of worry as they watched him go, knowing that this audition meant the world to him.

“I’ll go talk to him,” Jonghyun’s mother started up the stairs, suddenly being grabbed on the arm by her daughter.

“Wait a little bit, Mom,” She sighed, looking up the staircase, “He probably feels too awful to talk about it right now. Let’s give him some space…” Jonghyun’s mother wanted to object and console her son, but she knew Sodam was right.

 

Jonghyun sat himself down on his bed, the images of his shocked mother and sister replaying over and over in his mind. He had let them down completely. He had let himself down. He really had no one to blame but himself. He hated himself for failing. Jonghyun just wanted to make his family proud, but he was stupid and chose the wrong song, and said the wrong things, and chose the wrong agency and shouldn’t have wanted to sing. He  _ hated _ himself, he hated his stupid music--

Jonghyun felt his frustration, anger, and disappointment smother him completely, feeling like a glass overflowing with water. With a great sob into his hands, all of the music sheets scattered on his desk suddenly fluttered up into the air and ripped right down the middle, startling Jonghyun to the core, pushing him against the headboard of his bed.

Jonghyun was speechless.  _ What the fuck had just happened?! _ His music sheets were all over the floor in pieces. The window wasn’t open, there were no drafts in his room, from what he believed, ghosts didn’t exist nor was there a possibility of a ghost haunting his house, so what in the hell caused his papers to fly into the air and rip exactly down the middle?!

Jonghyun wiped the tears from his cheeks as he bent over the bed, looking down at the papers. He was afraid to move. What if he was next? The thought sent a massive chill down his spine. From what he could recall, the sheets went up into the air and ripped right as he sobbed into his hands. At that moment in time, he was regretting pursuing music altogether.

_ Did...did I do that? _


	2. 623 West Area

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Startled by sudden occurrences, Jonghyun goes to research what's happening to him at a local book cafe.

The sobbing and the strange paranormal encounter made Jonghyun wonder if he was just exhausted and was imagining things. He quickly got off his bed and turned off the lights to go to sleep, hoping that everything was just a dream he would eventually forget.

 

The feeling of waking up sad is physically and emotionally draining for anyone. The moment you realize you’re still sad after you wake up is enough to crush your heart, knowing that a night of sleep didn’t make anything better.

Jonghyun’s daily alarm buzzed from somewhere in his room, annoyingly loud for a weekend morning. Reaching for his nightstand, his hand patted around for his phone in an attempt to snooze it, only to find it not where it usually was.

_ Oh yeah, it’s still in my pants pocket. _

Jonghyun spotted his jeans in a pile on the floor by his bedroom door. Before he could even get up, his phone suddenly slipped out oh his pants pocket, flew through the air, and landed right in Jonghyun’s hand.

Jonghyun dropped the phone to the ground with a yelp. The sudden flying surprise startled him and he sat up, freaked out as what had just happened. The alarm was still going off, but it had somehow made its way to Jonghyun without him even having to get up. Jonghyun peered cautiously over the side of his bed down at the phone as if it were cursed or something. He carefully reached out and poked it, before quickly turning it over and silencing the alarm. Taking a look around his room, the music sheets from the night before were still scattered in pieces all over the floor. He slowly looked at his hand, tremendously perplexed at the situation.

“How the fuck did that happen?” Jonghyun whispered to himself, looking around the room as if someone had installed wires or hidden cameras as a sick prank. He quickly grabbed his phone off the floor, web searching what “symptoms” he was having.

First Google search: “floating objects”

That yielded little results. Just a bunch or weird stock photos and nothing explaining what was happening.

Second Google search: “I moved an object”

Wait, too vague. He changed it to “I moved an object without my hands”. Still nothing interesting. This time, a whole bunch of fake magic trick tutorials popped up. It did get him thinking, however.

Third Google search: “object movement real magic”

He didn’t believe it would yield any search results, but it was worth the shot. Suddenly, the words “supernatural magic” appeared. Jonghyun tapped on the link. It lead to a website with a little witch’s hat at the top called “Magic’s Mystery”. It looked like some sort of homemade guide to witchcraft spells and magic. At the top, there was a drop down menu, with one quick link leading to abilities. Without hesitation, Jonghyun tapped the link and was brought to a page full of supernatural talents. The list had names he could hardly pronounce, with things about raising the dead and mind control, and other abilities he’d only known in video games. After about a minute of scrolling, his eye caught a keyword: “teleporting”.

The article he’d stopped at was called “telekinesis”, which meant to move things with your mind. The objective was to focus your entire mind on the task you wanted to achieve, and your mind would be able to influence the task by itself. There wasn’t much on the matter or how it can happen, but it intrigued Jonghyun wholeheartedly. At the end of the article, there was a small reference that said “for more information, read my book ‘Magic’s Mystery: The Beginning’”. Jonghyun quickly google searched the book, checking to see if it was held at the local library. It wasn’t; in fact, it wasn’t available in bookstores or online anywhere except for once place, just near the edge of town. A little book cafe called “Selene”.

Jonghyun quickly threw on the jeans from last night and a t-shirt he’d found on the floor before making his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth and fix his hair. He hated letting his curiosity get the best of him, but he had the day off and a lot of thinking to do. He needed the time alone to breathe.

Jonghyun raced down the stairs and out the front door as swiftly as he could to avoid seeing his mother and recalling last night’s meltdown. The bus towards the edge of town happened to be the next one, so he didn’t have to wait long to catch his ride. He unfortunately didn’t notice the spread of food his mother had prepared for him for breakfast sitting on the table.

 

Jonghyun calculated his stop by the address of the book cafe that Google had listed, stepping off the bus and looking around for any sort of sign. Near the bus stop was a pharmacy, so Jonghyun stepped inside to ask for directions.

“623 west area?” The old clerk asked, looking a little confused.

“If you don’t know, it’s okay--”

“Oh! Yeah, 623! Selene Book Cafe, is it? That’s just down this road and to the right. Look for a wooden sign,” The clerk smiled warmly. Jonghyun nodded with a smile and bowed, thanking the clerk for help. After a few minutes of walking, he saw the wooden hanging sign near the street, adorned with flowers and vines.

The shop itself was quaint and Jonghyun seemed fond of it. The door chime rang as he stepped in, with a handsome dark-haired young man greeting him at the desk while pricing books. The shop certainly was a lot bigger on the inside, with stacks and rows of books all over, and paper origami displays hanging from the ceiling. The smell of dark roast wafted through the air and the old wooden floors creaked with each step, but to Jonghyun, it was music to his ears.

Music. He didn’t want to think about music. He wanted to think about magic right now. Jonghyun wandered through the rows of books, looking for ones on magic. They should be in the fiction section, right? Well, what was happening to him certainly wasn’t fiction. Non-fiction? Maybe Supernatural? The vast amount of books in the place was overwhelming, it could take him forever to find what he needed. He must’ve looked dreadfully confused, because soon enough, a cute cat-eyed man stepped up next to him.

“Excuse me, can I help you find something?” The man asked suddenly, causing Jonghyun to startle.

“Oh! Uh, yeah,” Jonghyun looked at the man’s name tag that read ‘Kibum’, “I need a book called ‘Magic’s Mystery: The Beginning’, and it said online that you have it in stock?”

“Yeah, we have it. You’re in the wrong section though,” Kibum grinned, leading him to the other side of the book shop. In the middle was a round coffee counter, with a quiet-looking barista cleaning some coffee mugs. The counter was surrounded by tables and what looked to be mismatched or recycled furniture, giving the cafe a warm and inviting feel. A young man was seated at a table reading manga, a hot coffee next to him. He looked up at Jonghyun for what seemed to be a second, giving him an odd eyed look, before returning to his story.

“Over here,” Kibum called, crouching down to the bottom shelf in the corner of the place. He pulled out a thicker book with gold edges, and handed it over to him. “There aren’t many copies of this. We might have the only one in the country, actually. It’s a rare find.”

“Wow.. uh, thanks,” Jonghyun looked at the book and up at Kibum, but Kibum wasn’t looking back at him. Instead his eyes were fixated on the man at the table behind him, the one that gave him the weird look. He seemed as if he was communicating with the guy. Soon enough, Kibum’s eyes snapped back to Jonghyun’s.

“You know, if you want to learn about magic so bad, that book really isn’t the best tool,” Kibum specified, that slight grin never leaving his face.

“Wait, what? No, I-I’m just curious about it, I’m not looking to practice it or anything,” Jonghyun mumbled, a little embarrassed that he’d been called out like that. Kibum chuckled oddly.

“But it seems like you already have,” Kibum smiled, wiggling his dainty fingers at him like he was casting a spell, obviously poking fun at Jonghyun’s panicked face. Jonghyun felt like he’d been caught in a lie or something.  _ Does this guy know what happened earlier? _

“No, not really, but I do,” The man behind him at the table spoke up as if he was replying to Jonghyun’s thought. Jonghyun whipped his head around to see the petite boy taking a sip from his coffee with his lips in a smirk.

“What? How did you-”

“You’ve experienced your first encounter with your powers, haven’t you?” Kibum cut Jonghyun off, stepping over to sit with the younger man. “I’m glad we found you.” 

_ Found me? What the fuck is he talking about?! Who are these creeps?! _

“We’re people, Jonghyun, just like you. And we have powers, too.” The younger boy responded brightly.

 


End file.
